Bollito misto

Bollito misto
Bollito misto served with spinach, mostarda vicentina, purée, and balsamic vinegar jelly
TypeStew
CourseSecondo (Italian course)
Place of originItaly
Main ingredientsBeef and veal, cotechino, whole hen or capon

Bollito misto (Italian: [bolˈliːto ˈmisto]; lit. 'mixed boil' or 'mixed boiled meat') is a classic northern Italian stew, resembling the French pot-au-feu, typically consisting of various tougher cuts of beef and veal, cotechino sausage, and a whole hen or capon, all gently simmered in an aromatic vegetable stock.

Bollito misto and its many regional variations are eaten throughout Italy; it is particularly popular in Emilia-Romagna, Piedmont, and Lombardy. The meat is sliced thinly and served with mostarda, and a green sauce – salsa verde – and other sauces.

History and description

One-pot stews have long been common to many cuisines. Those using a mixture of meats include the French pot-au-feu, the Belgian hochepot, the German Pichelsteiner, the Spanish cocido and the South American puchero.[1] Bollito misto is a comparable dish from Italy.[2]

Anna Del Conte writes in her 2001 Gastronomy of Italy that the mixture of meats in a bollito misto varies by locality. In Piedmont and Lombardy beef is the main ingredient, and in Emilia-Romagna pork products – cotechino and zampone – take first place. Del Conte stipulates, "A classic bollito misto should include beef, veal, chicken, tongue, a cotechino and half a calf's head". The meats are added to the pot at different times, depending on how long they take to cook.[3] Chefs and food writers from Italy and elsewhere prescribe widely differing ingredients:

Cook/writer Beef Veal Poultry Sausage Ref
James Beard Brisket Tongue Capon Cotechino [4]
Biba Caggiano Brisket; tongue (optional) Rump; calf's head (optional) Chicken or capon Cotechino [5]
Antonio Carluccio Brisket Cheek and tongue Boiling chicken Cotechino [6]
Elizabeth David Silverside Fillet; calf's head and feet Capon or turkey Cotechino [7][n 1]
Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall Brisket or shin; tongue – Boiling hen Cotechino [8]
Rose Gray and Ruth Rogers Tongue Silverside (optional) Capon or boiling fowl Cotechino or zampone de Modena [9]
Sophie Grigson Brisket, flank or shin Tongue; shoulder or brisket Chicken Cotechino and/or zampone [10][n 2]
Marcella Hazan Brisket or rump; tongue Brisket or rump; half a calf's head Chicken Cotechino [11]
Alastair Little Shank; tongue Shank; foot Capon or chicken Cotechino or zampone [12]
Anton Mosimann Tongue; brisket, rump or chuck Shoulder; foot (or pig's trotter) Chicken Cotechino [13]
Claudia Roden Brisket; tongue Rump or shoulder; foot (or pig's trotter) Chicken Cotechino [14]
Jody Scaravella Chuck Shoulder Capon or turkey (optional) Cotechino [15][n 3]
John Torode Salt beef; tongue Shank Chicken Cotechino [16]
Alice Waters Brisket; tongue – Chicken legs Fennel sausages [17]

According to Larousse Gastronomique, the meat is cooked in stock with onions, carrots and celery and served with vegetables such as carrots, turnips and celeriac cooked in a little of the strained stock.[18] Depending on the region, bollito misto is accompanied by different sauces.[3] The two most frequently served are salsa verde and bagnet ross or salsa rossa (a tomato sauce). According to Del Conte, the best-known bollito misto, the Piedmontese gran bui, is served with at least three sauces, with saussa d’avie (made with honey, walnuts and mustard) in addition to salsa verde and salsa rossa. In the Veneto, bollito misto is accompanied by peverada,[n 4] and in Lombardy mostarda di Cremona is served along with salsa verde.[3]

Restaurants that offer bollito misto often serve it from special trolleys with each of the various meats in its separate compartment full of hot stock. The meat is removed from the stock and carved individually for each customer; this prevents the meats from drying out.[3]

Notes, references and sources

Notes

  1. ^ David writes that a piece of gammon and a pig's head could be added to the meats.[7]
  2. ^ Grigson mentions pork as an additional meat.[10]
  3. ^ Scaravella also includes pork shoulder in his ingredients.[15]
  4. ^ A traditional Venetian sauce made from the liver of guinea fowl or chicken, with anchovies and soppressata sausage.[19]

References

  1. ^ Davidson, p. 554
  2. ^ Davidson, p. 87
  3. ^ a b c d Del Conte, p. 53
  4. ^ Beard, p. 372
  5. ^ Caggiano, p. 218
  6. ^ Carluccio, p. 92
  7. ^ a b David, p 192
  8. ^ Fearnley-Whittingstall, p. 305
  9. ^ Gray and Rogers, pp. 238–239
  10. ^ a b Grigson, p. 146
  11. ^ Hazan, p. 324
  12. ^ Little, p. 173
  13. ^ Mosimann, p. 148
  14. ^ Roden, p. 35
  15. ^ a b Scaravella, p. 213
  16. ^ Torode, p. 118
  17. ^ Waters, p. 122
  18. ^ Jones, p. 128
  19. ^ Della Croce, p. 42

Sources

  • Beard, James (1981). The New James Beard. New York: Knopf. ISBN 1-50-400457-4.
  • Caggiano, Biba (1991). Modern Italian Cooking. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-67-175445-9.
  • Carluccio, Antonio (2005). Carluccio's Italian Food. London: Alhambra. ISBN 978-1-84-400297-9.
  • David, Elizabeth (1989) [1954]. Italian Food (sixth ed.). London: Penguin. ISBN 0-14-046841-2.
  • Del Conte, Anna (2013). Gastronomy of Italy. London: Pavilion. ISBN 978-1-86-205958-0.
  • Della Croce, Julia (2003). Veneto: Authentic Recipes from Venice and the Italian Northeast. San Francisco: Chronicle. ISBN 978-0-81-182350-0.
  • Gray, Rose; Ruth Rogers (1995). The River Café Cookbook. London: Ebury Press. ISBN 0-09-181255-0.
  • Grigson, Sophie (2000). Sophie Grigson's Sunshine Food. London: BBC. ISBN 0-56-355169-0.
  • Hazan, Marcella (1976). The Classic Italian Cook Book. New York: Knopf. OCLC 1148189209.
  • Jones, Bridget, ed. (2011). New Concise Larousse Gastronomique. London: Bounty. ISBN 978-0-75-372150-6.
  • Little, Alastair (1994). Keep It Simple: A Fresh Look at Classic Cooking. Woodstock: Overlook Press. OCLC 1357504376.
  • Mosimann, Anton (1996). Mosimann's World. London: Boxtree. ISBN 0-75-220511-0.
  • Roden, Claudia (2003). The Food of Italy: Region by Region. South Royalton: Steerforth Press. OCLC 1348901940.
  • Scaravella, Jody (2025). Nonna's House: Cooking and Reminiscing with the Italian Grandmothers of Enoteca Maria. New York: Atria. ISBN 978-1-47-677412-1.
  • Torode, John (2008). Beef – And Other Bovine Matters. London: Quadrille. ISBN 978-1-84-400623-6.
  • Waters, Alice (1999). Chez Panisse Café Cookbook. New York: HarperCollins. ISBN 0-06-235400-0.

See also

Media related to Bollito misto at Wikimedia Commons

Further reading

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